{"id":299776,"date":"2023-12-10T03:39:30","date_gmt":"2023-12-10T03:39:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/?p=299776"},"modified":"2023-12-10T03:39:30","modified_gmt":"2023-12-10T03:39:30","slug":"novak-djokovic-makes-not-friends-admission-about-nadal-and-federer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports-life-news.com\/tennis\/novak-djokovic-makes-not-friends-admission-about-nadal-and-federer\/","title":{"rendered":"Novak Djokovic makes ‘not friends’ admission about Nadal and Federer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Djokovic celebrates after ending year as world no.1<\/h3>\n

Novak Djokovic has spent his career battling with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on the court. He admits that the trio are \u201cnot friends\u201d of it – but he would like to change that in the future.<\/p>\n

The trio are widely considered the greatest three tennis players of all time. They\u2019ve shared multiple titanic contests on the court and developed rivalries as a result.<\/p>\n

But Federer is now retired while Nadal is approaching the end of his career after recently being plagued by injuries. Djokovic, on the other hand, shows no signs of slowing down and is now fighting to stay ahead of a host of rising young stars.<\/p>\n

With his rivalries with Federer and Nadal coming to a close, he admits he\u2019d like to see their relationships change having made a conscious decision to maintain some distance while they were competing so fiercely on the court.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Speaking in a teaser clip for an episode of 60 Minutes being shown on US TV on CBS and streaming on Paramount+ on Sunday evening, Djokovic is asked by host Jon Wertheim about his relationship with Nadal and Federer.<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

He says: \u201cGreatest respect is always there, at least from my side,\u201d but admits maintaining a bit of distance has been necessary. Asked if he would like to become friends in the future, he adds: \u201cI would like to. I would really like to.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPersonally, I would like to. I mean, I know that obviously (laughs) we didn\u2019t get along so well throughout our careers in, like, off court.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we are not friends because, you know, we\u2019re rivals and it\u2019s difficult as competitors to be very close and kind of share and give insights to you know, to your life or to how you feel because, you know, it could be used against you.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we have shared the stage for so many years. And I think the greatest respect is always there, at least from my side, towards them. So yeah, I hope that one day, when the curtains are slightly more closed, that we are, yeah, able to sit down and, and reflect. It would be, it would be amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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